The Road Traffic Authority will introduce a new system this year which will centralise all road transport functions.
The system which is expected to be rolled out by the middle of the year will amalgamate all functions under various state and provincial agencies.
RTA Chief Executive Officer, Nelson Terema, tells Loop PNG that a tender has been put out for the selection of a reputable company to provide the system.
The system encompasses all functions previously held under the National Road Safety Council (NRSC), National Land Transport Board, Land Transport Division of the Department of Transport, and the Provincial Traffic Registry.
“We already have the board in place which has passed some very important resolutions, one of which is to centralise these vehicle registering, driver licensing and other integrated services into the system.
“Of course there is a system in the MVIL but it is not centralized. So Each Provinces are doing their own driver licensing and vehicle registration or other integrated services like issuing of PMV players licenses, Taxi’s, or motor car dealers. All these are done in isolation in each provinces,” Terema says.
He says the isolation by the agencies has created loopholes for many motorists and land transport users who violate or blatantly disregard road safety requirements.
One of the major loopholes is the issuing of licenses to unqualified drivers and the lack of inspection on road worthy vehicles.
"Under the RTA we make sure that all drivers come for a formal training, both theory and practical, and then they will be issued with a certificate before they obtain or renew their driving licence.
“The inspection stations will also be hooked up to the new system so that we will be making sure that all vehicles are road worthy before they can proceed with the vehicle registration,” he said.
It is a mammoth task for the RTA which has over the last two years received no government finance apart from its re-current operational funding.
This is why the successful company, who will be selected once screened by the Central Supply and Tenders Board, will invest in developing the system and recoup the funds over a five year period when it operates the system.
During this time local staff will be trained to operate the system.